Samurai Squadron Shinkenger
The Samurai Sentai Shinkenger are a group of masked heroes who protect the Modern Province in Kingdom Hearts: Dual Paths. While the rest of the world has presumably modernized, these heroes and their province retain lifestyles reminiscent of the ancient samurai of old. They are only one branch of a massive organization of heroes known as the Super Sentai, meaning that the Modern Province is only one part of a much larger world. In actual publications, the Shinkengers are the Japanese analougues to the Power Rangers Samurai, and predate their American counterparts in conception. Shinken Gold becomes a Party Member for Phayne while he is within the Province, after being defeated. The rest of the team serves as a boss for Kamai during her visit. Members There are six total members of the Shinkengers. The main five are encountered by Kamai during her stay, while the sixth member is only seen by Phayne during his dealings with the Kamen Riders. 'Takeru Shiba' Takeru serves as Shinken Red, and the head of the clan household. Silent, detached, and no-nonsense, he and his vassals have a.....complicated.....friendship. Takeru was bred from birth to be a legendary samurai capable of defeating General Doukoku's Army as well as interstellar threats. As such, his mind mainly sticks to the mission; making getting to know him a chore within itself. Depspite his exterior apathy, he actually cares a lot for not only the world's denizens, but his fellow teammates, considering them family. The arrival of the Remnants has NOT helped matters, and has made him more determined than ever to combat the enemy. In battle, Takeru's Shinken power turns his blade into a sword that emanates Fire unto foes with every srike. Journal Entry : "The leader of the local masked samurai team and local clan household. Non-nonsense and serious, his silent apathy is merely a charade, as Takeru fights for those close to him, as well as the greater good." Ryūnosuke Ikenami Ryūnosuke serves as ShinkenBlue, and acts as the second-in-command. Like Takeru, Ryū prefers a no-nonsense approach to missions, often putting him at odds with the ever-bubbly Chiaki. He is by far the most subordinate of the team, often coming off as a zealot due to how strictly he defers to the Master- Vassal relationship expected of Samurai households. He tends to be the brainy guy of the team, and prefers strategy to action. In battle, his Shinken Power turns his sword into a bow with which he can pelt enemies from a distance with water-charged arrows. He is also a follower of Kabuki theater, and will verbally strike down anyone who deplores it. Journal Entry: "The second-in-command of the local masked samurai team. Is extremely loyal to his allies, particularly Takeru, addressing him formally. Is a powerful strategist, despite his often hasty demeanor, and often bickers with Chiaki. Is also a well-known kabuki dancer." 'Chiaki Tani' Chiaki serves as not only ShinkenGreen, but a foil to Takeru and Ryūnosuke. Unlike the previous two serious fighters, Chiaki has a rather laid-back attitude, and often jokes and pulls pranks on his friends. This tends to garner ire from Ryūnosuke, who sees him as little more than a jester. However, he has hidden depths and is a competent fighter despite being the least experienced of the team. He is learning to balance work and play slowly but surely. In battle, Chiaki's Shinken Power turns his blade into a spear alive with the powers of the forest, which he uses in conjunction with an evasive, tricky style to confuse his opponents. In the Dual Paths Universe, Chiaki also has Curative spells he will cast upon the team. Chiaki is to appear in Superhero Keyblade Wars as the Shinkengers' representative. Journal Entry:'' "A sly, laid-back prankster, Chiaki serves as the team's jokester, as well as a foil to Ryūnosuke. Is slowly learning to balance work and play. Despite his inexperience, Chiaki uses his tricky fightng style to assist his allies in battle. Has a fondness for video games."'' 'Mako Shiraishi' Mako is Shinken Pink, and is by far the most approachable of the main five. She has an extremely kind disposition, despite coming off as rather meek. She disdains fighting and prefers peace to war. However, she also notes the theat of Doukoku as well as the Remnants, and fights for the sake of normalcy. She has a great allignment towards children that stems from her own indifferent childhood. Unlike Ryū, who serves Takeru with little questioning, she is much more neutral towards his thinking. This makes her the second-most individualistic among the team, the first being Genta. She is also a notoriously terrible cook, to the point where the others sneak out of the household whenever she is in the kitchen. In battle, Mako's Shinken Power transforms her blade into a massive bladed fan as freeflow as the Sky she is attuned with. In the Dual Paths universe, she also has protective spells, such as Protect and Shell, she will cast upon the team. Journal Entry: "Mako is the team's heart, and is easily approachable by others. Despite having an aversion towards violence, she sees Dokoku and his minions as the threat they are and fights to end the fighting. Is a notoriously horrible cook." 'Kotoha Hanaori' Kotoha becomes ShinkenYellow. While she shares the compassionate traits of Pink, she has a rather powerful self-loathing due to being forced to replace her sister, who was supposed to be ShinkenYellow, but was struck ill. While she is adjusting to her newfound roles, she believes herself to be lower than her sister, something which every member of the team argues against. In battle Kotoha's Shinken Power transforms her blade into the land slicer, a four-bladed kunai that emphasizes reach over power. In the Dual Paths universe, she also has deblitative spells, such as Deprotect and Daze, to cast upon her enemies. Journal Entry: "Kotoha is ShinkenYellow, fighting in place of her sister, who was the original chosen. Despite this she is welcome openly among the other members, who have convinced her to move on. Like Mako, Kotoha has an extremely compassionate demeanor." 'Genta Umemori' Genta becomes ShinkenGold, and serves as support for the team. Genta was a childhood friend of Takeru's. While Genta was forbidden from officially training due to lineage, Takeru secretly snuck the Ika Disc out of the Clan household and entrusted it to Genta. Wanting to train with his newfound power, Genta runs away from his parents and wandered the world, selling sushi to make his living. He trained with this power, eventually crafting a custom-made phone, the SushiChanger, with which he could execute magical commands in conjunction with the Ika Disc, most notably, morphing into ShinkenGold. Genta is only encountered by Phayne briefly during his tenure with the Kamen Riders, and serves as a minor boss. In battle, Genta uses a reverse-grip dagger style and superior speed to overwhelm his opponents. In the Dual Paths universe, he also has access to basic offensive magic such as Blizzard and Thunder. Story The Shinkengers encounter both main characters during their stories. The common narrative concrning the team is their desire to protect the Province. 'Phayne' The Shinkengers encounter Phayne, Kamen Riders Decade and Diend, as well as Genta fighting the Identitis Remnant summoned from Diend's secret desire, which had stolen the Rider's battle gear. After contending with the powerful monster, the Shinkengers and Decade have a brief conversation as to Decade's supposed status as a Destroyer of Worlds, before acknowledging him as a hero rather than villain. They thank Phayne for his assistance briefly before retruning to ther household. If Phayne revisits the world after completing it, the Shinkengers' Clan House becomes avaliable for him to explore. He can also initiate minor conversations with the Shinkenger members, which will hint at their encounters with Kamai. The Clan House also contains the world's final treasure, an HP Up item. 'Kamai' Kamai meets the Shinkengers after opening rifts between the Sanzu River and the Human World for Doukoku to invade. They are astonished by her use of the Keyblade for evil, but she belittles them for their blind adherence to heroism, claiming that they prevent people from fighting for themselves. Enraged and determined, they attack her in a five-on-one duel. She bests them, only to spare them. Dokoku appears and orders Kamai to kill them after her victory, but she refuses, being aware of her status as the tool he thought of her as, and closes the rifts she had opened. The two prepare to battle, but Dokoku is distracted by an urgent call from a minion, forcing him to return to the River. During all of this, the Shinkengers retreat back to their Clan House. Kamai meanwhile, resumes her interactions with Juzo. Unlike Phayne, she has no access to the Clan House, for obvious reasons; but is the only one that can traverse the Sanzu River and enter Dokoku's ship. As a Boss The main five members of the Shinkengers are fought during Kamai's visit to the Province. They are considered to be by far the second- hardest main story boss in the game, only trumped by Reith's final fight. Thy are also later encountered in the Delusional Cafe's Author Power Cup at level 70, and can be fought by both main characters. 'Kamai' The Shinkengers' main strength lies in their ability to buff each other up, and their constant switching of team members mid-fight. Each Shinkenger has their own strategy and attacks. *ShinkenRed: Fights aggressively with wide-arcing attacks. Cartwheel is integral to dodging his attacks. Also has a Guard technique that activates if struck more than four times in a row. Best fought cautiously. *ShinkenBlue: Uses Water-elemental arrows to interrupt Magic-casting and long-range commands. Is especially vulnerable to an aggressive assault. *ShinkenGreen: Evades most physical attacks thrown at him, relying on counterattacks and quick movements to catch the player off-guard. Can also heal himself and teammates. Has the lowest HP of the group. Magic is effective against him. *ShinkenPink: Casts buffering spells such as Protect and Shell on herself and teammates, using her fan to blow wind at the player. Debilitative magic is useful against her. *ShinkenYellow: Casts debilitative spells such as Deprotect and Deshell on the layer, as well as throwing her Land Slicer at the player. Hit-and-run tactics work well. The Shinkengers' main gimmick is their ability to switch team members on the fly. After fighting one of them for about a minute, another will take the former's place. All the while, Team members will be receiving buffs and healing from other Rangers not in the direct fight. The only way to win is to whittle down the team in a war of attrition, as well as forming an Ability Deck with one of every type of command. While the execution of such a strategy is tedious, it is effective. Ethers and Hi-Potions are also well-advised. With patience and a bit of luck, Kamai will defeat the heroes. 'Phayne' Phayne will only encounter the Shinkengers in the Author Power Cup, and will be fighting them at their strongest. Due to his low Magic stat, Magic spells are not recommended, sans Cure and Bravery. As Phayne relies on Physical attacks, contending with Shinkens Green and Pink will be an issue. To counteract his weakness towards Magic, use of the Rayman D-Link is recommended here. The D-Link exchanges Power for Range, which against Green and Pink, is necessary; as Pink's buffers will reduce her taken damage, while Green will be blitzing across the battlefield, which makes him hard to hit with basic attacks. The Rayman D-Link's combo potential and wide-range attacks make hitting the enemy easy. While Phayne won't be doing much damage with individual attacks, the multi-hit nature of the D-Link's attacks make a Physical strategy possible. In terms of the rest of the Shinkengers, a hit-and-run setup is best, particularly against Shinken Red. Category:Kingdom Hearts: Dual Paths Category:Characters Existing In Another Franchise Category:Groups and Organizations Category:Toei Characters Category:Heroes